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Amazon is just one of many companies finding creative ways to allay costs.

Amazon and Ebay wouldn’t be nearly as fun without the marvel of shipping. We’ve all exhaled in excitement over that package that arrives lighting fast and scratched our head over that parcel that went missing in the post. Our digital savant, Omar Gallaga of the Austin American Statesman’s 512 tech, unpacks the latest ins and outs of shipping in online consumer culture.

Gallaga says that many major companies are turning to shipping as an opportunity to get creative in streamlining a significant portion of their spending. Especially, he says, with companies such as Amazon putting up as much as $5 billion a year in net shipping costs.

One direction this innovation is taking is towards drones and autonomous delivery.

“There’s still a lot of regulation issues to deal with but the same push that we’re seeing in driverless cars, we’re going to see those being used for shipping as well,” he says.

On the opposite end of the tech spectrum is the rise in online retailers like Amazon, Bonobos, and Warby Parker opening brick-and-mortar stores. For online retailers, innovation appears to extend in many directions.